Chapter 14
Later that evening, Kate stepped into the bathroom and locked the door. A few minutes later she was undressed and standing beneath a hot shower, praying it would work out the soreness in her muscles.
She'd worked out five days a week, keeping her muscles toned and trying to stay healthy, but Ethan's training wasn't about health.
It was about survival for herself and the person she would guard.
And it was brutal. He'd continued to put her on the defense, tossing her to the mat more times than she could count, but each time Kate learned something new.
The one good thing about their training, she'd been beneath him, body to body, and after giving in to the fact that she couldn't deny the attraction between them, she accepted it and used it to help give her energy.
Each time he pressed against her, electric heat charged through her body.
After being on autopilot so long, almost like she’d been desensitized to other people, reacting so strongly flooded her with vitality.
He made her feel wanted, especially when she felt his hard length pressed against her.
Outwardly he kept his expression blank, but there was nothing he could do to hide the banked lust in his eyes.
She'd left him with a promise to meet up later tonight at a bar in a neighboring town. Kate got out of the shower, toweled off and carefully selected her clothing for the night.
She had no intention of pulling any punches when it came to seducing Ethan Slade.
Ethan nursed a beer at the bar, if he could label the ramshackle shack built on stilts over a murky Mississippi bayou a bar.
Somehow the clapboard walls were holding up, although every time the wind shifted, the entire shack groaned.
The girl behind the bar had more tattoos than his entire team combined and nearly as many piercings.
There were two other couples in the bar.
The first consisted of a broken down old cowboy clutching a bottle of rot gut and holding hands with a woman with hair so red it had to have come from a bottle.
The other couple appeared almost normal, except they kept casting suspicious glances his way and twitching, which meant whatever reason they were here probably wasn't legal.
This far out, they could be selling dope or smuggling alligator skin.
Ethan cast up a silent prayer that the motel room he'd rented wasn't a close relative to the bar. How could he expect to seduce someone like Kate in a shit hole with cockroaches as decorations?
The bartender stared past his shoulder and Ethan swung around and blanked.
Kate strolled across the floor, graceful and predatory, almost feline.
She'd let her hair hang long and straight down her back, a perfect touch to the skintight dress hugging her curves like it'd been painted on.
And the heels. She'd worn those fuck me heels.
Kate didn't stop until she stood between his spread knees. She took the beer from his hand, and placed the bottle on the bar behind him. Ethan sat there, unable to move, mouth dry and body tense and ready to snap.
“Sorry I’m late. I wasn’t sure you’d wait.”
Her husky voice slid over his skin like a caress and snapped him from his stupor. Ethan pulled her to his chest.
Kate rubbed her chest across his, and Ethan clenched his jaw so tight he was surprised his teeth didn't shatter. He was so much worse off than he'd originally thought.
Ethan snatched her hand to his lips and nipped her palm, savoring her soft gasp.
“I would've stayed here all night if you asked me to.” Although more than likely, he would've ended up back at Noni's to check on her.
Kate wasn't the type of woman to stand him up, even if she changed her mind, she would've told him to his face.
But when her gaze slid away from his, he felt the first niggling of worry. “Why did you pick this place?”
She nibbled her lower lip and faced him. “To be honest, I didn't want to chance running into any of the other guys.”
That got his back up instantly. Was she embarrassed to be seen with him or something? “Why?”
“I didn't want to put up with their shit tomorrow. I already put up with enough crap just because I'm female, if they get wind I'm banging you too...” She let her words trail off with a shrug and Ethan found himself grinning in response.
“So you're banging me, are you?” He palmed her hip and yanked her closer, allowing her to feel how much that thought turned him on.
Her eyes darkened from pale green to emerald and she lowered her lashes. “In a seedy motel and everything.”
The thought of her spread out beneath him on any bed was enough to drive him past the edge of control. Ethan ripped out his wallet, tossed a five on the bar and pulled Kate out behind him. “You lead the way to the motel.”
He'd only been around her for a few days and yet their tension had built to the point of exploding. Ethan knew as soon as she touched him, he was done for.
Kate stood with Ethan outside the one-story 1900's era motel, a heavy set of old keys dangling from her hand. Their door, Room 101, boasted a large crack across the top left corner and enough chipped paint she couldn't really tell what color it was supposed to be. Maybe blue? Tan? Red?
Ethan grabbed her hand. “You kidding me? No way I'm letting you stay here for the night. This is the place where murderers and thieves go to get rid of bodies, not for a romantic rendezvous.”
Kate ignored him and shoved the key into the lock, “You said Aaron told you this was the only place within a hundred miles.”
Ethan's hand landed heavy on top of hers, stopping her before she could turn the lock. “I'm not kidding Kate, there's got to be somewhere better than this.”
Kate turned the key. “I'm not kidding either. Besides, I did my own research. The FBI bought this place and uses it for undercover work. That nasty old man who checked us in is an agent. We are safer here than at the Hilton in town.”
Ethan growled and pulled her behind him, stepping into the room first. “You could've told me that.” He pulled a pistol from his jeans and did a quick scan of the room. “You've been sitting here knowing I was worried about this place the whole time.”
Kate kicked the door shut behind her and slid the lock shut. She tossed the keys on a cracked dresser and watched as Ethan strode into the tiny bathroom in the back and disappeared.
Taking her opportunity, Kate peeled her dress over her head and tossed it next to the keys. She'd opted for shock value to hold on to her control of the situation. The only other item of clothing she wore were the heels. Those she left on.
Ethan stepped out of the bathroom and placed his pistol on the small counter. “I don't know, that shower's seen better days...” Ethan's voice trailed off as he turned to her. “Jesus Christ.”
Kate liked the shell-shocked look on his face. With sensual power fueling her veins, she strode across the room and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling the heat radiate off his body in waves. “You were saying?”
Ethan's head dropped to hers, his words whisper soft. “You don't fight fair at all.”
Kate jumped and Ethan wrapped her legs around his waist. Kate took the opportunity to nip and lick softly at his neck, his masculine fresh scent had her eyes nearly rolling back in her head. “I never said I fought fair.”
Ethan carried her across the room and sat down on the edge of the mattress with her straddling his hips. Without waiting, Kate took his lips in the searing kiss she'd been dying to take ever since this afternoon.
She deepened the kiss, her control close to snapping and she yanked back, unwilling to lose it just yet. Ethan let her have her way, peppering soft kisses across his nose and cheeks, down his neck, leaning back long enough to rip the shirt from his body.
In the dim glow of the lamplight his chest was all dark planes and golden highlights and mouthwateringly sexy.
Feeling as if some sensual spell had taken over her senses, Kate kissed her way across his pecks, tonguing his flat hard nipples into beads.
His hands twisted in her hair, almost painfully, but the sharp bite on her scalp transformed into pleasure.
“You're going to make me come in my pants.”
His words only drove her further and she kissed her way down his abs, sliding down to the floor between his knees, every intention of continuing on her journey until she learned every inch of his skin.
She yanked his belt buckle free, then unbuttoned his jeans, gesturing for him to help as he silently lifted his hips and she slid his pants down to his knees.
“I have no intention of letting you come in your pants.” Kate licked her lips and leaned in to place a soft feather-light kiss on his thigh, the silky hair on his legs tickling her nose.
She could hear him breathing hard and fast and she drove onward, skating the edge of control, as her own heat coiled and built to near pain.
She wrapped her hand around him and then lowered her mouth to lightly kiss and lick his tip before taking him in deep, savoring how his hard length stretched her lips wide.
Kate closed her eyes and gave over to the mindless pleasure of his hot steel encased satin sliding over her tongue.
Ethan groaned and jerked under her touch, and when his hands went to her hair, he didn't do anything but rest and allow her to take the lead.